Discusses a survey conducted to understand the gender imbalance and high level of female attrition in computer science. Suggests that factors influencing the rate of attrition are lack of previous experience with computers, gender-biased attitudes and behavior, interactions with other computer science students, and the nature of computer science…

Presents an approach to computer science teaching developed at the University of Warwick (England), in which students can choose different tools and techniques according to their needs and preferences; the approach allows the system to evolve with advances in technology. Describes the software designed for the automatic submission of assignments…

CPU SIM, an interactive low-level computer simulation package that runs on the Macintosh computer, is described. The program is designed for instructional use in the first or second year of undergraduate computer science, to teach various features of typical computer organization through hands-on exercises. (MSE)

Pretests measuring critical thinking ability and mental alertness were administered to 72 first-year college students at the beginning of an introductory computer programing course. Posttests administered at the end of the semester showed significant improvement in both areas, indicating that instruction in programing improves students' critical…

Expresses a high school student's frustration at trying to learn programing through courses in BASIC and PASCAL and her renewed enthusiasm studying programing with Scheme. Changes in the elementary, secondary, and advanced placement computer science curriculum are encouraged, and information for obtaining Scheme software is provided. (MES)

The development and evaluation of a series of hypermedia tools designed to help students learn to program in PASCAL or LISP are described. Classroom trials with 171 college students illustrate use of the developed tools. The use of hypermedia to foster integrated understanding is discussed. (SLD)

Describes the integrated Intelligent Tutor, Environment and Manual for Introductory Programing (ITEM/IP), which supports a course on computer programing based on the minilanguage Turingal. Discussion covers system design, including design philosophy, system overview, concepts included and information structure, programing laboratory mode,…

Discussion of information technology focuses on the future needs of computer science education. Information processing as an economic force is described; the relationship of information processing with other disciplines is examined; audiences for computing education are considered; and two examples of curriculum requirements implied by computing…

Describes a study that examined the formal reasoning abilities of 147 preservice students in elementary education enrolled in a computer education course. Use of the Arlin Test of Formal Reasoning (ATFR) is explained, and correlations between students' ages and grade point averages and their scores on the ATFR are discussed. (Contains 22…

Describes and compares the degree programs in Computer Technology and in Computer and Information Science that are offered in the Purdue University System. Areas of comparison include degrees available; curriculum differences, including mathematics requirements and required and optional courses; faculty; and educational and employment…

Describes how World Wide Web delivered visual explanations of programming constructs have been used to supplement conventional instructional methods and materials traditionally employed introductory programming courses. Explanations are constructed using inexpensive commercial software that supports the use of animation, graphics, color, and…

Examines male and female high school students' attitudes toward computers in relation to gender and computer experience. Findings revealed: males showed a more positive attitude toward computers even when computer experience was controlled; females were less interested in computer science (CS) than males, however no gender differences were found…

Describes the first online undergraduate certificate program in programming which was created specifically for the deaf and hard-of-hearing at Rochester Institute of Technology's (RIT's) National Technical Institute for the Deaf College. Explains modifications to videotaped lectures as well as possible future plans. (LRW)

The primary purpose of this study was to analyze different perceptions displayed by novice programmers in the C++ programming language, and determine if modularization ability could be improved by an instructional treatment that concentrated on solving computer programs from previously existing modules. This study attempted to answer the following…

Roles of variables is a new concept that captures tacit expert knowledge in a form that can be taught in introductory programming courses. A role describes some stereotypic use of variables, and only ten roles are needed to cover 99% of all variables in novice-level programs. This paper presents the results of an experiment where roles were…